Gnats are tiny flying insects that include fungus gnats, fruit flies, and drain flies. In this article, We will show you how to get rid of Gnats in your house and prevent further contamination.
Fungus gnats are dark with long legs, fruit flies are brown and round with bright red eyes, and drain flies have moth-like wings and are attracted to water. Because gnats breed frequently, addressing an infestation swiftly is quintessential for successful treatment.
The primary feature that attracts these minuscule pests is moisture. Since their ulterior motives are to breed and humid surroundings prove to be the perfect sanctum for them to do that. For instance, fungus gnats tend to thrive in places with ample moisture, like an overwatered plant pot. Similarly, fruit flies are attracted to fruity smells.
However, they will crowd a moist or humid environment, like the inside of an electronic kettle left to dry out.
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They will generally enter your house from the outdoors through cracks or holes in your foundation, walls, windows, or doors. Gnats often infest trash cans, rotten fruit, and other moist places where decomposing organic matter exists. They can also be found near sinks, drains, and toilets.
See Also: 7 Ways to Get Rid Of Flies In Your House [Complete Steps]
5 Ways to Get Rid of Gnats in Your House Easily
Apple Cider Vinegar Trap to Get Rid Of Gnats
DIY traps are the best homemade remedies available for pests and the apple cider vinegar trap is probably the crème de la crème of them all. Easy to procure ingredients paired with easy assembly and high effectiveness is what makes this a go-to trap.
Take a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, dish soap, one tablespoon of sugar in a bowl and stir the mixture. Now place this bowl in an area near the place frequented by gnats. The fruity, sweet smell of the apple cider and sugar will make attract the gnats while the dish soap will pull them into the solution and eventually drown them.
Fruit Trap
This is probably the most straightforward albeit brilliant trap you could conjure if you are wondering how to get rid of gnats in your house. Since fruits are the most susceptible to pests and rot pretty quickly, they are potentially the simplest of all baits. Take a rotting fruit and cover it with a perforated plastic wrap. Place this in a jar and allow the gnats to find their way in. Allured inside by the fruity smell, the gnats will get stuck to the perforated wrap and eventually suffocate.
Candle Trap
All you need to make a candle trap is a candle, candlestick, and a little bit of water and dish soap. Now place the candle on the candlestick, fill the holder partially with water,r and mix half a teaspoon of dish soap. Light the candle and place this near the kitchen or bathroom or wherever the gnats are running riot. Make sure the nearby lights are turned off to make them flock to the candlelight.
Most of the gnats will get burnt by the flame while the rest will get drowned in the solution. You may also use vanilla-scented candles or other sweet-scented candles to increase the effectiveness of this trap and lure gnats with the sweet fragrance.
Diluted Bleach or Drain Cleaner
If you have bleach or drain cleaners like Drainex at your disposal, you can easily use them for sink and bathtub infestations. Pour a cup of diluted bleach(One-half cup of bleach to one gallon of water should be enough) or Drainex down the drainage pipe or the outlet pipe to kill the gnats. Ensure that you are wearing gloves and covering your mouth so that you neither come in contact with the liquid nor inhale the fumes.
Always make sure to use the sink, bathtub, or area of application only after a strict gap of 30 minutes, if you are using such concentrated chemicals. This is mainly done to prevent diluting the chemical and reducing its effectiveness. However, it also ensures that no probable accidents happen when someone touches the surface by mistake.
Vinegar Dish Soap Spray
Perhaps there are only a handful of gnats and you want to nip the issue in the bud without waiting for the problem to get worse. Fret not, as this DIY spray will instantly save you the trouble of browsing through multiple items online as you search for how to get rid of gnats in your house. As you might have surmised by now, vinegar and dish soap are a wondrous combination to use against most pests.
Fill a spray bottle with a mixture of one cup of water, one tablespoon of vinegar, and a few drops of dish soap. All you need to do now is to spritz this mixture onto the stray gnats around your house. If you were wondering, this solution is environmentally friendly and won’t harm your indoor plants.
Closure
We have provided a few DIY methods on how to get rid of gnats in your house. Needless to say, you must mandatorily assess how bad the infestation in your residence is and then opt for suitable methods. For instance, if none of the methods work and the gnats seem to be breeding more aggressively, then it might signal an infrastructural lapse in the housing that allows them to do so. Consequently, your best bet would be a pest control service as they would be able to pinpoint and eliminate the root cause.
You must also keep in mind the possible ramifications of some of the DIY traps and use them as per your limitations. For example, the fruit trap might be problematic if you have an allergy to fruits. Once you have analyzed the infestation and your options, you should be able to determine your best course of action.